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Although the ancient Greeks said that large books can be a great evil, the contrary is not necessarily true. A small book can also be a great evil but, vice versa, it can also be of considerable importance. And this is the case of Ambiguity, a book that supplies continuous and valuable stimulation to the reader not only from the professional point of view, but also because of those personal, cognitive and affective aspects that inevitably form part of every psychoanalyst's activity but that normally remain private.
“We are born with an innate love of the truth, but we are ready to free ourselves of it as soon as it becomes a nuisance.” This striking sentence by a great psychoanalyst, Roger Money-Kyrle, that Simona Argentieri has chosen as her ‘exergo’, is, I think, perfect as an introduction to the theme. The author directs her attention to a particularly subtle and elusive mental attitude that is difficult to define. She first noticed it in certain of her patients, and then - increasingly - in everyday public and private relationships, to the extent that she considers it a widespread tendency of today's Western culture.
The book supplies us with information but at the same time it raises and clarifies problems and stimulates the reader's memories, personal experiences and fantasies. The literary style is clear and colloquial but also precise and intense; through it we can appreciate the author's profound psychoanalytic knowledge gathered not from book learning but from actual experiences both personal and with her patients. This stimulating book opens up new avenues of thought that are often unusual; they become wider and more enlightening with every reading and often provide new observation points on the theme under discussion.
Although Argentieri's book is apparently easy to read, it is at the same time original and profound; it can be understood immediately, but it certainly cannot be read distractedly or too rapidly or its fundamental capacity for stimulating thou